Mirror of Seon (선가귀감)

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TheMirror of Seon (禪家龜鑑; Seonga gwigam) 선가귀감

Seonga gwigam was
authored by Great Master Seosan Hyujeng (西山休靜; 1520-1604). It is a guide to Seon practice that can
be used as a mirror for Seon practitioners. Master Seosan wanted to produce the
book because he was greatly disappointed at the way his contemporaries learned
Buddhism. After deep reflection, he concluded that disciples of the Buddha
regarded only the sacred texts of the Buddhist canon as precious. He then
collected essential passages from the Buddhist canon and the recorded sayings
of Seon masters and organized them. To these he added annotations, commentaries
and verses, producing Seonga gwigam.
Hence, the book may be used to initiate students into the Seon School.

In addition, the book was written to mediate the confrontation that existed
between the Seon and Doctrinal Schools at the time. Master Seosan said, “Seon
is the mind of the Buddha while Doctrine is the words of the Buddha (禪是佛心敎是佛語).” By this, he recognized the superiority of Seon over Doctrine, but he also
clarified that Seon and Doctrine were not in opposition but actually
complemented each other.

In Seonga gwigam, there are an
introduction written by Master Seosan and an epilogue written by his disciple,
Great Master Samyeong Yujeong (四溟惟政; 1544-1610).The first Chinese edition was published in 1579 and printed from
woodblocks. Seonga gwigam has been
continuously published, both in Chinese and Korean, by many temples, including
Songgwang-sa and Bohyeon-sa. Especially in the late Joseon era, it received
much attention from scholars of the practical learning movement called “Silhak
(實學).” In addition, Seonga gwigam was popular and frequently published in Japan to such
an extent that there were 180 different editions by the late 17th
century. The following are excerpts from the beginning of Seonga gwigam.

There is a single thing that from its origin has been ever so bright and
ever so numinous, never born and never extinguished, that cannot be named and
cannot be described.

The Buddhas and patriarchs appear in the world stirring up waves in the
absence of wind.However, the Dharma has many meanings and people have many capacities; it
is permissible to employ skillful means accordingly..

- excerpt from Buddhist English (Intermediate 2) published in 2014 by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism​​​